


Finding a Place to Belong

by Karategrl80



Series: ASMB Fics [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Selkies, Alternate Universe - Urban Fantasy, Asexual!Castiel, F/M, It's not all his fault though, John Winchester's A+ Parenting, M/M, Polyamory, Selkie-verse, Teenchesters, Weechesters, demisexual!Sam Winchester, saileenstiel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-05
Updated: 2020-10-05
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:14:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 15,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26821225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Karategrl80/pseuds/Karategrl80
Summary: Sam and Dean had spent much of their young selkie lives travelling from hotel to hotel with their overly paranoid father, who left the Singer-Harvelle pod when Mary died unexpectedly.  After being sheltered from selkie culture for much of their childhood, a chance encounter with Bobby during their travels leads to the brothers returning to the Singer-Harvelle pod--without their father.  Follow the brothers' journey as they learn why their father left and discover where they fit in the Harvelle-Singer pod.
Relationships: Castiel/Eileen Leahy/Sam Winchester, Castiel/Sam Winchester, Eileen Leahy/Sam Winchester, Ellen Harvelle/Bobby Singer, Gabriel/Dean Winchester
Series: ASMB Fics [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1956271
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14
Collections: Asexual Supernatural Mini Bang 2020





	1. Act 1, Scene 1

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to my entry for this year's ASMB bang! It's not as "mini" as I thought is was going to be, however! I guess that's alright, the more selkie, the better.
> 
> I'd like to forewarn you that this fic is written kind of like a series of timestamps. I wanted to be able to explore Sam and Dean's experiences as they grew, without my fic growing into any more of a monster than it already is, so there is that.
> 
> Also, once the fic gets going, it is mostly Sam-centered. The Debriel tag is very much in the background. (something else I would have loved to explore more, but WORDS and TIME)
> 
> At some point, I ran a "search and replace" to replace "yea" with "yeah." Well, Google Docs had other ideas and instead replaced "yea" with "yeahhh" and "year" with "yeahhhr." I think I got all of them, but if I didn't let me know so I can fix them.
> 
> As always, I have no control over chapter length, the characters are in charge of that and are very finicky.
> 
> Please make sure to check out the awesome artwork by flightoftheseraph and give them some love!

Act 1, Scene 1: **Sam: Age 4, Dean: Age 8**

Dean came home from school to find a baby seal bouncing on the hotel bed.

  
“No, Sam, come on, we’ve talked about this! If Dad came home and saw you he’d take your pelt, and we absolutely cannot let that happen!”

The seal on the bed huffs, and a shimmer appears around him. When the shimmer fades, there is a 4 year old human male sitting on the bed with a petulant look on his face, holding his pelt in his hands.

“Come on, De, he’s not supposed to return until the day after tomorrow, and we never get to change! My skin gets itchy!” He turns his best sad seal eyes on his big brother. “You promised me we’d get to go swimming soon, we’re so close to the water!”

Dean sighs. “Yeah, I know. I checked it yesterday, the water here is really rough. If we get separated, I won’t be able to help you. You’re still learning!” Dean sits down on the bed next to Sam and puts an arm around him. “I’ll keep checking, though, okay?” He holds out a pinky finger. Sam reluctantly hooks his pinky with Dean’s.

“Ohhkay,” he says, reluctantly. He looks away from Dean at the rickety night table. “It would be easier if we could swim more often. You could swim really well by the time you were my age!”

Dean runs his other hand through his hair and sighs. “Yeah, but..it was different, Sammy. This...this isn’t either of our faults. I’m scared to talk to the adults, cause humans get weird about Selkies sometimes, and I don’t wanna not tell them we’re Selkies, cause they might separate us, and I don’t want that either.”

“They would take you away from me?” Sam asks, looking up at Dean with concern.

“They might. I’ve heard of it happening. At least we know where we stand with Dad. I don’t know enough to make any kind of move. I don’t want us to end up in an even worse situation.” Sam breathes out forcefully. “Well it’s stupid, we’re seals, we should be able to swim, and not have to hide our pelts.”

“I know. BUT! I have a surprise! I picked up some mac and cheese on the way home from school!” Dean picks up the bag he’d dropped at the foot of the bed when he’d sat down, and Sam peers inside suspiciously.

“I thought we were out of money, De.” he said.

“Some kids at school owed me some money, and I got it today.” Sam’s expression doesn’t change. “Whatever, Sam, we have food, is the point, don’t complain. Go get washed up and then you can help me stir, okay?”

“Ohkay,” Sam replies, as he trudged to the bathroom to wash his hands.

*****

Dean found a nice little alcove that was away from the rest of the hustle and bustle of the beach. Perfect. Away from overly curious humans, and sheltered from the large waves that were still prevalent after the near miss of the hurricane. Ensuring that no one was watching, he led Sam to the far side of the alcove. Quickly, they changed out of their people-clothes (as they called them) and grasped their pelts. Intent was important here—the change was not instantaneous upon touching their pelt, they must desire the change. But beyond that, Dean did not understand anything else about the strange magic that brought the shimmer and change into their seal forms. Sam wriggled happily, doing barrel rolls in the sand. Dean caterpillared over to Sam and nudged him with his nose. Sam stopped rolling, and together they made their way into the water.

Sam was nervous, he always was the first few minutes in the water. Dean carefully floated next to him, until he got his bearings and felt comfortable. Then they spent time racing from one side of the alcove to the other and holding their breaths underwater. Occasionally, Dean would bark at Sam when he needed to show an important skill—but otherwise, the time was spent simply existing in the moment, enjoying the freedom that the water—and their seal forms—provided.

Unnoticed, they had drifted away from the security of the alcove, and Dean only got a moment of notice before there was a shark practically on top of them. Dean let out three short barks, which was their shorthand for evasive maneuvers. They were in real trouble, The shark followed Dean, and as Dean started to change direction something rammed into the shark, causing it to lose focus. Dean didn’t waste any time swimming away, and frantically searched the water for Sam.

Just when he was starting to lose hope, he heard desperate barks on his left hand side. He zeroed in on the barks, and there was Sam, barely treading water, too scared to move any farther. Dean came up alongside him, and helped support his weight so they could limp back to the shoreline. As soon as they were out of the water, they returned to their human skins, too upset to stay seal shaped on land. Dean gathered Sam up in his arms, and carefully checked every bit of him. Beyond the obvious fear, however, they both seemed to have escaped unscathed.

“We’re just gonna sit here for ...as long as we need to...ok, Sammy?” Dean gasped. Sam didn’t reply verbally, but snuggled in tighter to Dean. Dean wrapped his arms around him and pulled him up into his lap, gently rocking back and forth—whether for him or for Sam, he wasn’t really sure.


	2. Act 1, Scene 2

Act 1, Scene 2: **Dean POV**

As I sat there with Sam, a man appeared from behind a large rock outcropping. He was dressed but clearly sopping wet. As he approached, I pulled Sammy closer and covered us as best I could with our pelts. He stopped a short distance away, and simply stared at us for a moment. I didn’t know what to say. Thank you for saving us from being shark food? Dad didn’t want us to talk with other Selkies, he’s got this weird hate/paranoia thing about my mother’s death that I just don’t get. Now that I think about it, I don’t think I’ve talked to any Selkies that weren’t Sam or my dad. In any case, I watch this unknown Selkie with suspicion, because, honestly, that’s all I know.

“You two were super lucky today. You didn’t get the no swim bulletin?” he asks.  
I have no idea what he’s talking about. I shrug my shoulders, trying to look like I’m not totally lost.

“My name is Bobby,” he says. “You move here recently?”

Well, shoot. What can I tell him that he might believe? “We’re just staying in town for a bit,” I say. I’m not wrong, I’m sure we’ll eventually leave, ESPECIALLY if Dad learns we’ve had contact with a Selkie. “Um...thank you sir, I...we...are...um…” I trail off, not really sure what to say. ‘Thank you for keeping us from being eaten by a shark’ just doesn’t quite seem like enough.

“Well, why don’t you let me get you some towels, and something to eat?” The guy—Bobby—asks. I want to, I really, really want to, but this is totally a bad idea. I don’t want to press my luck.

“We really shouldn’t, Bobby, sir.” I say. “We ought to be getting back to the hotel—we weren’t really supposed to be here in the first place, to be honest, sir.”

Bobby stares at us, like, I dunno what like, and I’m starting to worry we’re not gonna be able to leave. Finally his shoulders sag, and he replies, “Okay. Can I at least give you a lift, so you don’t have to walk?”

“No thank you, sir,” I say, trying to not show the guy how scared I was. He could just scoop Sammy and me up and we’d never be seen again. “We’ll walk back, it’s not far, honest.”

“Okay.” His brow crinkles, and he frowns a bit. He’s probably an okay guy, but I just can’t take the chance. Hell, we just didn’t get eaten by a shark, I ain't gonna push my luck. He walks towards us, and I startle and scramble backwards, dragging Sammy as I go. Sammy whines in protest, and when Bobby stops moving, so do I. He holds his hands up, palms forward. “I ain't gonna hurt you ya idjit, I just wanted to give you my card.”

“Card?” I asked. What kind of card could he possibly want to give us?

“Yeah. It’s a business card. Has my name, address, phone number, and email address. If you ever need help, you can call. And if I can’t help you, I’ll find someone who can.”

“Why would you offer that?” I ask.

“I’m a pod chief, and I’m protective of any Selkie, especially pups, who need help. It’s just natural in the blood, I ‘spose. Here, I’ll put it down right here where you can get it, and back away, okay?” Bobby places a small cardboard-looking rectangle down on the sand, and steps back. I carefully untangle myself from Sammy and creep up to the rectangle, clutching my pelt in front of me. I pick it up and read it.

“Singer Auto Body? You a mechanic?” I look up at him.

“Well I started out as one. Now I own the place. That's my last name, there, Singer.” I frown at the card, trying to remember something that was on the edge of my brain but I couldn’t quite remember.

“Do you serve humans and Selkies?” I ask.

“I serve anyone who walks through my door, young man.”

“Okay. I’ll keep it. We really need to get dressed and get going, now.”

“Of course,” Bobby says. “Careful, now, walking home, okay?”

“Yes sir.” I respond. I watch carefully as Bobby walks away, and it isn’t until he is out of sight that I stand up and drag Sammy with me. He leans and clings to me, and while that usually drives me up a wall, right now I wouldn’t let him get a centimeter from me. We wobble back to the rock where we left our clothes, and clumsily redress. Both of us are shaking a little, and it’s hard for us to keep our balance. As we leave the beach, Sammy looks up at me.

“De?” he asks.

“What’s up, kiddo?” I respond.

“That was really scary,” he says.

“I agree. I’m glad Bobby was there to help us.”

“Me too.” He pauses. “Does this mean we aren’t ever gonna get to go swimming again?”

I sigh. “No, Sammy. I think we just have to be more careful, is all.”

“Okay, good, I’m glad.”

Me too, Sammy, me too.


	3. Act 1, Scene 3

Act 1, Scene 3: **Bobby**

Upon returning to town, Bobby stops by the Roadhouse to see Ellen before heading home. He heads directly to the bar and settles in on his usual stool. The bartender comes over and asks, “your usual?”

“No,” Bobby replies. “Just a beer. Whatever you’ve got on tap.” As the man moves away to fill Bobby’s order, Bobby adds, “And, Benny- tell Ellen I’m here?”

“You got it, cher,” Benny replies, placing Bobby’s beer in front of him and heading back to the kitchen. After a few minutes, Ellen bursts out of the kitchen.

“Bobby Singer, what are you doing here? I thought you were patrolling down by the mainland today? Don’t you know I have a business to run here? I wasn’t expecting to see you till tonight at home!” She sits herself on the stool next to Bobby, takes a glance at his beer, which he hasn’t touched yet, and his face. “Shit, Bobby, what happened, you look a mess.”

“Damn idjits happened, that's what. Two pups, off the mainland coast. Think they started in a cove, but drifted into open water. Almost became shark food. I just barely got there in time.”

“Ain't the first pups that's been dingbats like that-whose were they? We’ll take care of it.”

“That's the problem, Ellen.” Bobby looks down at the bar, and then stares at his beer, like it's going to tell him the future.

“Well, spit it out, the beer ain’t talking,” Ellen says.

“It was Sam and Dean Winchester.”

“You’ve lost your mind.”

“Nah, Ellen, I’m sure. They’re the right ages, Dean’s got those green eyes and freckles—right kind of seal too. Can’t tell Sam, he was so little when they left. But I’m positive it was them.”

“Dean recognize you?”

“I’m not sure. Maybe, but he didn’t know from where, I think.”

“Where the hell was John?”

“I don’t know Ellen. I followed them when they left, they’re staying at a motel on the mainland. No sign of John, no sign of the Impala.”

“You didn’t offer to bring them here?”

“I did. They refused. Well, Dean refused. Sam didn’t say a word. They’ve clearly been taught not to trust anyone. I gave them one of the business cards that Rowena magicked up for me. Told them to call me if they needed anything. I don’t know what else to do, Ellen, I can’t just grab them-they are clearly old enough to run away if I tried—and they wouldn’t trust me that’s for sure.” Bobby sighed, and took a long sip of his beer.

Ellen put her arm around Bobby’s shoulders. “Well, this is a perfect use of those cards—they won’t be able to lose it-even if John finds the card and throws it out—and it will make itself known if it senses they need something. I know I made fun of you when you asked her to make them, but I got to say, it was worth it, if somehow it brings those boys back to us one day.” She tilts her head and takes a critical look at Bobby. “There’s only so much you can do. You can’t control John, and he didn’t want to hear anything you had to say after Mary’s death—I can’t imagine he’d be any more open to listening now. I’m surprised he came so close to us.”

“He blames me for Mary’s death.”

“We’ve beaten this to the deep sea, but I’ll repeat it as much as you need to hear it. There is NOTHING you could have done without risking more lives. Mary understood that. We understand that. If we didn’t, do you think this would still be the Singer-Harvelle pod?”  
Bobby chuckles. “No, it definitely wouldn’t be. I have no doubt you would be the first to throw me on my ass.”

“That’s right,” Ellen agrees, smiling, but she continues in a more serious tone. “John couldn’t see past his grief to understand there wasn’t anything any of us could do. I bet he’s still searching for the fire demon he swears is responsible for the house burning down. A great conspiracy is all he can see. He can’t accept what it was.” She tugs Bobby closer to her for a moment, then lets go. “You finish that beer up and go home. I’ll bring you home burgers for dinner, okay?”

Bobby nods, reluctantly. “Yeah, that sounds good, El.”

“Good.” She gives him a hearty slap on the back, and calls out to Benny, who had been discretely stacking glasses at the other end of the bar. “Benny,” she yells, over the increasing crowd noise from the beginning of the dinner rush, “take care of him will you? Make sure he don’t drink too much and gets his ass out of here at a decent time?”

“Absolutely, cher!” Benny replies, giving her a thumbs up.

“Good.” With one last thump on Bobby’s back, she gets up and returns to the kitchen.

Bobby removes his hat, runs his fingers through his hair, and puts his hat back on his head. He thinks to himself, It’s gonna be a long night, that’s for sure. As he drains his glass, he’s surprised to see another lined up ready to go. He looks at Benny questioningly.  
“But that’s the last one and then I’m kicking you out, sir,” he says, grinning.

Bobby sighs. “Yup. Probably for the best.”


	4. Act 2, Scene 1

Act 2, Scene 1: **Sam: Age 8, Dean: Age 12**

Of course, within a few days, John moves Sam and Dean. “Can’t stay too long in one place, boys,” he would say. “They’ll find us.” He’s never specified who “they” were. It used to be, we need to get away, because they could have done something for Mary, and they don’t think I am good enough to be your father, they want to take you away from me. The “they” was a known entity: the other seals from the pod. But now it seems, the “they” has expanded to mean...well...just about anyone.

For the first half of the summer, everything was fine—well, as fine as life got, with John Winchester. He would disappear for a couple of days, but he would always be back, and he would pay for another few days in the hotel and give Dean money for takeout. Dean would scrimp and save as much as possible, and when he could squirrel away enough money for two day passes for the local YMCA, he and Sam would head over and swim for the day in the pools. It wasn’t the same as swimming as seals, but they made dol. Dean would lock their pelts in one of the locker room lockers, and come back and check on them periodically. It was a risk, of course, but leaving them in the motel, where truely anyone could find them, was certainly out of the question.

Dean kept in contact with Bobby. The first time he called was to ensure the number actually worked. When Bobby answered, Dean hung up. He called again the next week and actually stayed on the line long enough to talk. When Dean introduced himself as “one of the boys you saved from the shark,” Bobby laughed and said, “Boy, I know you’re tryin’ to protect yourself and your brother, but it might be a bit easier if you just gave me your names, ya think? Dean reluctantly shared, but then soon hung up. But he kept calling. Sometimes he told Bobby where they were—sometimes, he didn’t. Most of the time, he called to ask advice about Sam—and as the years passed—about Selkie culture and Bobby’s pod. Then, one summer day, maybe four years after their initial meeting, Bobby received a phone call that changed everything.

When he picked up the phone to silence, he waited it out. Usually that means that it is Dean calling, and sometimes it takes him a moment to get speaking. When more than a few seconds tick by, and there is still no sound on the line, he asks, tentatively, “Dean?”

“Mr. Bobby?” a quiet, unfamiliar voice sounds over the line.

“Yeah, this is Bobby. Is this Sam?” Bobby asks. He can’t imagine what other child might call him whose voice he doesn’t recognize.

“You’re the Mr. Bobby Dean talks to all the time, right?” the quiet voice asks.

“That’s correct. We met that day at the beach.”

“Yeah, with the shark.” Sam pauses. “I hope it’s okay I called you,” he asks, hesitantly.

“You are both welcome to call me whenever, Sam. I promised I would help you, and I keep my promises.”

“That’s what Dean said, too. Um...I think we need help, Mr. Bobby.” Bobby’s stomach clenches. It occurs to him that it's probably not a good sign that Sam is the brother who made the phone call.

“Okay. You have it. First, are you and Dean safe?”

“We’re pretty safe, I think. We’re in a motel...paid up until the end of the week. But Dean is sick, Mr. Bobby. I’ve been telling him to call you but he refuses, so he’s sleeping now and I snuck in his stuff and got the card with your number on it. He is sweating and coughing and says he feels cold and I think he might have a fever, cause I when I feel like that that’s what Dean says I have and I don’t know what to do or when Dad’s supposed to get back and I’m worried and I didn’t know who else to call, Dean says sometimes when you ask the humans for help they make stuff worse by accident and I don't know any other Selkies, other then you, Mr. Bobby, sir.”

Sam sniffles, and Bobby can hear in his voice how hard he’s trying not to cry.

“Sam, I’m so proud of you for calling me, you did the right thing. I know that’s really hard sometimes. First, do you know where you are right now? The address? Or the name of the motel?” There is silence on the other side of the line, other than a few sniffles. “Sam? Are you still there?” Bobby asks. Please don’t let the kid lose his cool now, he thinks to himself.

“Yes, Mr. Bobby. I was just getting the binder thing with the information in it.” Another pause, and then Sam rattles off the name and address of a hotel in Montpelier, Vermont. Bobby wonders what the fuck John was doing with his kids there.

“Okay. You boys are about 6 hours from where I am. When we hang up, I’m coming straight out for you both, okay?”

“Ok, Mr. Bobby.”

“Meanwhile, I have a couple of things I want you to do to help Dean feel better, you think you can do that for me?”

“Yes, absolutely, Mr. Bobby!” There is obvious relief in Sam’s voice, clearly pleased that help is coming and there is something for him to do to help.

“Okay. Do you know if you have any Tylenol?” Bobby asks.

“No sir, we don’t. We ran out and when Dean tried to buy some, the cashier asked a bunch of nosy ass questions—is what Dean told me, Mr. Bobby, sir.” Bobby noticed Sam’s constant formal speech, clearly some John’s military training had been applied to raising his children.

“That’s okay. There an ice machine there that you can get to safely?”

“Yes.”

“Excellent! Here’s what I want you to do!” Bobby explained how to keep Dean’s fever down, and for Sam to try and get Dean to take a cool bath when he woke up, reminding him not to let Dean drink or eat anything really cold. Luckily, they boys had canned soup, so Bobby instructed Sam to try and get Dean to eat some, even if it was just the broth. When Sam had repeated the instructions back to him, and he was satisfied Sam would remember after hanging up, Bobby gave him an estimated time of arrival and made Sam promise not to open the door for anyone other than him. Bobby desperately wanted to stay on the phone with the kid, but if he was gonna make it out there, he had to hang up. After saying his goodbyes he stared at the phone for a moment and sighed deeply, then got up and walked out towards the living room to tell Ellen the news.


	5. Act 2, Scene 2

Act 2, Scene 2: **Bobby**

When Bobby knocked on the door, he wasn’t sure what he was walking into. He could hear the shuffling movement inside the motel room ,and the curtains in the window gently shake. The sound of the deadbolt clicked, and the door opened, just as much as the still connected chain would allow.

“Can I help you?” A now familiar voice asks.

“Yes. Sam, it’s Bobby,” he replied. Clearly, John had installed his fear of strangers into the boys, but then again, when you are leaving your kids to fend for themselves for weeks at a time, that caution was more than necessary. “I’m here because you called me and said that Dean was sick, and I said I’d come out to help.”

Sam sticks his face in the crack of the open door, clearly trying to catch Bobby’s scent. While he wouldn't recognize family scent, the way he could with Dean and John, he should be able to tell that Bobby was a Selkie, not human. Sam’s face disappeared after a moment, and the door shut and Bobby heard the sound of the chain being released. Sam opens the door, keeping the door between him and Bobby, and once Bobby steps inside, he shut it quickly, re-engaging the bolt and chain locks.

Dean is on the far bed, and at the sound of the door shutting he wakes and looks at Bobby.

“What? Sammy, you call Bobby?” Dean coughs. “I told you not to.” Dean gave Sam a look that was supposed to be disapproving, Bobby thought, but only managed pathetic.

“Well, luckily, your brother has better sense than you, ya idjit.” Bobby sat on the bed next to Dean. “Can you sit up for me?”

Dean nods, and as he struggles to sit up, Sam climbs on the bed behind him to help.

“Ok, first, I need to get some liquids into ya.“ Bobby pulled out a hot thermos. “Ellen, my partner, warmed up some soup we had in the freezer for you. He pours some in the lid and hands it to Dean. “Two hands, okay? Soup ain't gonna do you no good spilled all over your clothes.”

While Dean carefully sips the soup, Bobby pulls out a sandwich wrapped in butcher paper. “Here, I got a hoagie on the way here. Figured you’d be hungry, too.” Bobby smiled to himself as he watched Sam practically dive for the sandwich. It would be funnier if Bobby wasn’t sure the kid was actually starving.

Once Dean had gotten some of the soup down, Bobby handed him two Tylenol. “Here,” he said. “These will help the fever go down.”

Of course, this is right when the sound of a swipe card and an attempt to open the door is made. When the door refuses to budge, there is a pounding knock. “I know you are in there, Bobby Singer, I’d know your stench anywhere, you cowardly pup stealing son of a bitch!”

Sam drops his sandwich back into the wrapper, looking at Bobby with wide, frightened eyes, a large chuck of sandwich still in his mouth.

Bobby looks at Sam and Dean. “I’ll take care of this. You two stay put.”

Bobby approaches the door, undos the latches, and opens the door, keeping himself between the door and the beds.

The instant the door is open, John starts bellowing at Bobby. “I can’t believe you have the nerve to come in here with my boys!”

“I wouldn’t have had to come if you were taking care of them properly, John” Bobby replied. “Dean may have human flu-his symptoms are really severe for it to be Selkie flu.”

“GET OUT!” John exclaims, pushing Bobby into the room and barging in past the door. Sam leaps up and positions himself between Bobby and John.

“Da,” he says, “I was worried ‘bout Dean, cause he’s never sick like this and I didn't have a number to call you and I was scared to talk to any humans and Bobby is the only other Selkie I know!”

John grabs Sam by the collar of his shirt. And how do you know Bobby, exactly?” he asks.  
“He...um suh-saved us from a sh-shark” Sam stuttered. John looks at Sam, and then up at Bobby, tightening his grip on Sam’s collar.

“And what were you doing in the ocean, Sam?” he asked, almost growling the words out. Sam’s characteristic snark came through his fear.

“Trying to learn how to swim, cause you know, we’re Selkies?”

“When was this?” John asked.

“Um...I dunno a while ago, we were in Maine somewhere.” Frustrated, John releases Sam, pushing him towards the footboard of the bed. Sam, not expecting to be released, tripped and a loud “thunk” sounded as his head hit the footboard.

Dean, who up to this moment had been watching the proceedings rather passively, jumped out of bed, having forgotten he was wrapped in blankets, and fell to the floor in a tangle of Selkie, blankets, and pelt. He scrambled to free himself from the pile and crawled over to Sammy who now had started wailing. Dean growled at John, and pulled Sammy off the floor so he could rest his head on Dean’s chest. As Sammy curled up in Dean’s lap, Dean soothed Sammy, humming softly while inspecting him for injuries.

John didn’t pay either child attention as he focused on Bobby. “I ain't letting you take them from me, “ He threatens.

“You didn’t even check to see if he’s okay!” Dean exclaims. “You’re never here, I’m always trying to feed Sammy and help him with his homework and you’re off—doing—stupid adult things, I guess, you never tell us and it’s not FAIR! You don’t even leave a number we can reach you at and Sammy can barely swim it's just…” Dean lets out a deep breath that ends in a coughing fit. Sammy looks up at him concernedly.

“De?” he asks, through his own tears. Dean struggles to get the coughing under control, but once he does, he reassures Sammy he’s fine, and settles for glaring angrily at John.  
After a moment of silence, he mutters, “At least if we lived with Bobby, Sam could learn to swim proper.”

John takes a step towards Sam and Dean, but before he can make any headway, Bobby stands between John and the boys. “You really wanna do this, John?” he asks. “You’re doin’ them a disservice. I can’t in good conscience leave them here with you alone, John. Dean’s sick. He is dehydrated, he needs fluids. Now, Sam needs to get his head checked. I’ll take them in my car, you can follow behind.”

“No. I swore I wasn’t ever going back there.”

“Well, I’m not leaving the boys with you. You aren’t fit right now to be their parent.”

“You can’t. You’re not their guardian.”

“I can. The last pod you—and Sam and Dean—were registered to was the Singer-Harvelle Pod. Ellen checked, you never withdrew. As far as the human law understands it, these two boys belong in my pod.”

John deflated. “They deserve better than being dragged all over the place with me.” He bent down and looked at Sam and Dean. “Bobby’s right. I’m not doing my best for you both. You deserve to learn your culture, and I just...I can’t give that to you right now.” He gathers them in a big hug. “Bobby will take good care of you boys, I promise.”

Sam looks up at John. “Why can’t you come with us, Dad?”

“It’s...complicated, Sam, but I can’t. Not yet. Okay?”

Sam nods, curled up in Dean and John's arms. Dean looks at his father suspiciously. “Are we gonna see you again?” he asks.

“Probably not for a long while, Dean. I think...I think I need to spend time figuring some things out, and that’s gonna take a while. But I’ll be thinking of you both. You are my sunshines, okay? You’ll like Bobby and Ellen, promise.” Carefully, he disentangles from them and looks at Bobby. “You take care of them, you hear?” he says, his tone with a hint of threat in his voice.

Bobby refuses to rise to the bait, and replies calmly, “Of course.” John turns and walks out without another word. Bobby looks at the boys, and then at the door John had just exited. “I’ll be right back.” he says, and follows John to his car. Bobby catches up to John just as he’s opening the door to the Impala. “John,” he says, laying his hand on John’s shoulder. “You don’t have to do this—abandon them. Come back with us.”

John turns and looks at Bobby. “You’re right about them deserving better than what I’m giving them. But I can’t go back there, I...the memories haunt me now, I’m afraid they will overwhelm me if I go back.”

“You’ve got to face them sometime, John. You’re afraid they’ll overwhelm you if you come back to the pod, but I’m afraid they’ll eat you alive if you don’t. Those boys LOVE you, John Winchester, don’t you dare abandon them.”

John shakes his head. “I can’t, Bobby, I just can’t. He stares at Bobby for a moment, and then moves around him to unlock the trunk. He pulls up a false bottom and pulls an old, battered suitcase. John slams that trunk shut and holds the suitcase out to Bobby. “This is their stuff—birth certificates, everything.”

“John,” Bobby says, softly. “Please don’t do this.”

“Take it, Bobby—I can’t be what you want. What they deserve.” When Bobby makes no move to take the suitcase from John, he sets it down in front of Bobby. “Take care of my pups, Bobby.” He brushes past Bobby without looking at him, and slides into the car, slams the door shut, and is gone. Bobby stares after the Impala as it speeds away, feeling just as hopeless as an abandoned pup. But speaking of abandoned pups, he now has two he needs to take under his care. He wonders how much of the exchange the boys heard. With a deep sigh, he picks up the suitcase and heads back to their room.

As he approaches the room, he hears shuffling away from the door. They may not have heard everything, but they probably heard enough. When Bobby pushes the door the rest of the way open, the boys are still sitting on the floor, presumably where they had been left, although Bobby knew better. The boys are quiet as they shuffle slowly around the room packing their things—Dean because he obviously feels like crap physically, and Sam because he is in shock mentally. After double and triple checking the room to ensure they haven’t left anything behind, Bobby gets the boys situated in the backseat of his vehicle, ensuring they have drink and snacks available. Not long after John’s departure, they leave as well.

They weren’t on the road for a half hour when Bobby heard a soft sniffling in the back seat. Sammy was suspiciously looking out the window, and Dean, even through his fever, was looking at Sam with concern. Dean leaned over and tagged Sam on the shoulder. Sam turned to him, eyes glistening. Dean motioned for Sam to come to him. Sam looked at his seatbelt, glanced up at Bobby—who pretended to not be watching through his rearview mirror—and then at Dean. Dean nodded his head encouragingly. Sam carefully unbuckled himself—and after waiting a moment to see if there was any reaction from Bobby, he scooted over to the other side of the car. Dean unbuckled himself, Sammy scooted next to him, and Dean rebuckled the seatbelt around the both of them. Dean curled his arm around Sam’s shoulders and squished him against his side, and softly began to sing.

“Hey Sam, don’t be afraid, take a sad song, and make it better. Remember, to let her into your heart, then you can start, to make it better.”


	6. Act 2, Scene 3

Act 2, Scene 3: **Raphael**

Once the boys had settled in and fallen asleep, Bobby called Raphael, the pod’s healer. Raphael, expecting his call, answered on the second ring.

“Hey, Bobby, what did you find?”

“I’m bringing home two pups.”

“And John?”

“Gone. He handed me their documents and left.”

“I can’t say I’m surprised.”

“Unfortunately. I’m trying to decide if I need to bring them to a clinic or if I bring them straight back to the pod.”

“Well, what are Dean’s symptoms?”

“He still has a fever, but I got some soup in him and some water.”

“And he kept it down?”

“Yeahhhh. Relatively coherent, although low energy, which I’m not surprised by.”

“Me neither.”

“Sam spent the day working to get his fever down, and I think that helped.”

“You can probably bring them straight back here, but keep an eye on him. If his fever spikes or his breathing is labored, detour immediately to a hospital. You need a list of the Selkie friendly hospitals between here and there?”

“No, I brought it with me.”

“How about Sam?”

“Well he took a pretty nasty spill and hit his head on a bed frame, but he hasn't complained of headaches, dizziness or blurred vision,” Bobby says, anticipating Raphael’s question.

“Good. Then I think you are okay to come straight here, but make sure you keep an eye on both of them. And stop and make them drink water.”

“Will do. Also—they show signs of neglect—they are both much too skinny for either of their ages.”

“Okay. One thing at a time, Bobby. Let's get them back here and treated for the immediate things, and then we can start worrying about the rest.”

“Yeah okay. I’ll see you in a couple of hours.”

“Of course...Let me know when you are close.”

“Will do.”

Amazingly, the trip back to the pod headquarters is remarkably unremarkable. Bobby made multiple stops on the way to check up on the boys. After the first stop, he carefully guided Sam into the middle seat, making no comment on the seatbelt sharing. Sam watched Bobby suspiciously, waiting for him to say something, but Bobby remained silent. There was no need to make a big deal about this right now. Like Raphael said, one thing at a time.

When they finally arrive at the pod side of the town, they head straight for Raphael’s clinic. Bobby gently shakes the boys awake and leads them, cuddling their pelts, into the building. The boys are intimidated when Raphael comes out to greet them, stepping back so Bobby remains between them and the large man now standing before them. Raphael bends down on one knee, and introduces himself.

“My name is Raphael, and I’m a healer,” he says, holding out his hand for Dean to shake, who had positioned himself in front of Sam. Dean looks at his hand suspiciously, and then cautiously takes a step forward and shakes Raphael’s hand.

“I’m Dean and this is my brother, Sam,” he says, as he gestures back at his brother who is tucked behind him.

“I’m pleased to meet you both. I’d like to have a look, especially at you Dean, to see how you’re doing with this flu you have. It sounds from what Bobby has told me that you are on the recovering end of it, but I would like to examine you just to be sure. Would that be okay?”

“Where would Sam and Bobby be?” Dean asks.

“That’s up to you. If you want both or either of them with you, they can come—if you would rather be alone, we can do that also. Whatever is most comfortable for you and your brother.”

Dean ponders this for a moment. “I want everyone with me,” he decides.

“Excellent. We’ll go to the larger examination room so everyone has space, then.”

They head in, and Dean looks around the room critically.

“Dean, would you feel more comfortable sitting on a chair or on the examination table?” Raphael asks. Dean points to a chair. “Okay, that works, why don’t you and Sam have a seat and get comfortable while I get ready, okay?” The boys nod. “Bobby, could you sit on the exam table for me?” Bobby gives Raphael a weird look, but compiles without asking any questions. “Okay, at some point we are going to need to look through your records and see what immunizations you need, but today is not that day. Sam, Dean?” Raphael waits until he has their attention. “I’m going to complete all the examinations on Bobby first, and explain what I’m doing while I’m doing it. You can ask me any questions you want at any time.” Both Sam and Dean look skeptical, but nod appeasingly anyway. Raphael proceeds to go through a basic exam on Bobby, taking his temperature and his blood pressure, listening to his lungs and heart, eyes and ears, explaining as he goes why he does each thing. Sam and Dean watch very carefully, and seem to relax as Bobby does not seem harmed by the close intrusion of the healer in his personal space. When Raphael is finished examining Bobby, he turns to the boys.

“If it would be alright with you, I’d like to examine both of you? I want to make sure that Dean is breathing okay since he has been sick, and Sam, I want to make sure your head is okay, I heard you hit it pretty hard this afternoon.”

Sam and Dean look at each other, and then back at Raphael. “Can we go up there together?” Dean asks.

“Of course,” Raphael replies. Sam and Dean look at each other again, and then Dean slowly nods his assent.

“Yeah, okay,” he says, reluctantly. The boys carefully make their way over to the examination table, clutching their pelts close. Dean steps onto the step stool and then hoists himself onto the table. Sam needs an extra hand up, which Bobby provides, after asking if he can give him a boost.

Raphael carefully examines both boys, and declares they are well enough, considering. He suggests continuing to give Dean Tylenol and prescribes a cough suppressant, and then sends the trio on their way.


	7. Act 2, Scene 4

Act 2, Scene 4: **The Singer-Harvelle Home**

By the time Sam and Dean finally arrived at the Singer homestead, they were barely standing on their own two feet. There was a brief introduction to Ellen that Bobby wasn’t even sure the boys would remember. Bobby had them sit at the kitchen table, and made sure they ate a little something before they were off to bed. When Sam looked like he was going to fall asleep in his plate, and Dean wasn’t much farther behind them, Bobby showed the boys to their room, which had two twin beds on either side, separated by a night table, with a single window over the night table. Bobby helped Dean get Sam situated in one of the beds, and then showed Dean where important things were, like the bathroom, Ellen and his bedroom, and where he could find food in the kitchen. As Dean got ready for bed, Bobby went back downstairs to the kitchen to put together a small care package of glasses of juice and some granola bars. He knocked softly at the door when he returned, and waited for Dean to acknowledge him.

“Hey,” he said, peaking in, to see Dean sitting on the bed next to Sam. “Do you mind if I come in for a second?” he asked.

Dean just gives him a look that clearly communicates that he thinks Bobby is insane for asking for permission to come into a bedroom in his own house. The boys are clearly not used to privacy, or for asking for privacy and having it granted, that will probably be another work in progress. In any case, Bobby doesn’t mention any of that now, and walks in and places the juice and the granola on the night table.

“In case you get hungry or thirsty tonight. I realize you don’t really know where everything is, this way you don’t have to wander around a dark unfamiliar house if you don’t have to.”  
Dean gives the food and Bobby a suspicious look, but he doesn’t say anything about what he’s thinking.

“Kay,” he responds noncommittally. Dean and Bobby look at each other for a moment. Bobby notes that Dean looks like he’s going to pass out any moment and his need to protect his brother is probably the only thing keeping him upright.

“If there isn’t anything else you can think of, I’m going to head off to bed. If you need anything, you come get us, okay?”

“Sure.”

Bobby sighs. He feels pretty confident that even if the room was on fire, Dean would only try to come and get them only after having tried everything in his power to put the flames out himself. He certainly wasn’t going to disturb them for anything less. Bobby really couldn’t blame Dean for being untrusting. His and Sam’s whole life had gotten turned upside down today, and it wasn’t likely to right itself again for a while.

“Ok. I’ll see you both in the morning, all right? We’ll see how the two of you feel and if you both are up to it, we’ll show you around a bit, okay?”

“Yeah, sure,” Dean replies.

“Okay. Good night, Dean. Please come and get us if you need anything, okay?”

“Yup. You said that. Have a good night.” Dean just looks at Bobby blankly and blinks.

Bobby can’t tell if he’s acting or if he’s just that tired. It probably is a combination of both, to be honest. Bobby leaves the bedroom, closing the door behind him. He listens for a moment, but doesn’t hear any noise. He heads up the stairs to his and Ellen’s room. When he gets there, Ellen is already bundled up in the blankets, reading a book.

“Get them all settled in?” she asks Bobby.

“Yeah, I think so. They are exhausted,” Bobby replies.

“They looked ready to drop when you brought them in.” She pauses. “Think they are going to be here in the morning or are we going to be putting out search teams to try and find them, you think?”

“I think tomorrow morning they’ll be here. Sam was utterly done, and Dean isn’t faring much better. He’s still sick. When they get their feet under them a little? Then we might need to watch them a little closer.”

******

As soon as the door creaked closed, Sam opened his eyes. “De, you awake?”

“I’m awake.”

There is a sound of rustling blankets and before Dean knows what’s happening, Sam is slipping into Dean’s bed.

“Sam, did you fall out of your pajamas? What are you doing?”

But before Dean is even finished asking the question, Sam has transformed into his seal shape, and is snuggling closer to Dean.

“Uggh, FINE. But only because it’s been an insane day. And I’m sick. No other reason, got it?”

Sam makes a content grunt and wiggles until Dean wraps his arms around Sam and snuggles.

“You are so freaking lucky you’re cute, bitch.” Dean says.

Sam thinks to himself, “Yeah okay, sure, jerk, but you’re the one cuddling ME!”

Before either can think another thought, they’ve both passed out, completely exhausted mentally and emotionally from this very draining day, that completely turned their world around.


	8. Act 3, Scene 1

Act 3, Scene 1: **Sam: Age 8, Dean: Age 12, Castiel: Age 10, Eileen: Age 10**

Sam sat on the bleachers, staring down at the pool apprehensively. If he’d known there was a swim evaluation today, he would have faked being sick. Now that he’s thinking about it, he vaguely remembered his teacher mentioning the evaluation, but there has been so much going on that it totally slipped his mind. Everything is so different with Bobby and Ellen, it's a lot to take in.

Sam sighs, trying to ignore the catch in his breath that signals he’s close to crying. He curls up, hugging his arms to his chest, hoping that maybe they won’t see him in the stands and forget about him. He stares down at the bleacher and starts counting how many pieces of squished gum he can find to try and calm himself down. So it’s completely not his fault when he startles when he feels a hand on his shoulder.

The person withdraws when Sam jumps and yelps unexpectedly. When Sam lifts his head to see who touched him, his breath is stolen from him momentarily, as he stares into the bluest eyes he’d ever seen, that are just inches away from his face. He must forget to breathe, because taking a breath startles him almost as much as the boy had. He looks around frantically, trying to understand what the boy is doing, and he notices a young lady with long brown hair and kind eyes behind the boy.

She taps the boy on the shoulder, and when he turns to look at her, she says, “You scared him!” Sam tilts his head as he listens to her voice, which is somewhat flat. He’s never heard a voice that sounded like that. He looks at them both confusedly. “I didn’t mean to!” the boy exclaims, before he turns back to Sam. “My name is Castiel, and this is my friend, Eileen. You looked like you maybe needed a friend?”

Sam’s not sure that he can talk, so he just stares at the two.

“He looks like a lost puppy, Castiel,” Eileen says.

She sits down next to him, and gently turns Sam so he is facing her.

“In case you didn’t figure it out,” she says, “I’m deaf. So I can speak with my hands.

Sometimes when you don’t know what to say, talking with your hands can help.” Sam blinks at her. She forms her hand into a fist, and shakes it up and down. “This means yes.” Then she makes a movement with her thumb, pointer, and middle finger, that looks like a bird opening and closing its beak. “This means no. Now you try. Sign ‘yes’.”

Sam tries to approximate what Eileen had just done.

“Good,” she says. “Now sign ‘no’.”

Sam tries the sign.

Eileen scrunches her eyebrows together. “Almost.” She gestures at his hand. “Can I show you?”

Sam nods.

“Sign, please,” Eileen reminds him.

Sam thinks for a moment. What was the sign? Oh that’s right, a fist. Sam does the sign for “yes”.

“Excellent!” Eileen says. She gently straightens Sam’s fingers, so they are straight, and pushes his pointer and middle finger together. “Like this,” she says.

Sam mimics her. “Good. So now that we can talk, would you like us to stay?”

Sam frowns at her.

Castiel chimes in. “If you want to be alone, we’ll go back up to where we were sitting before. No big deal. But you looked like you needed a friend, so if you’d like we can sit with you. You don’t have to talk. Sometimes it's easier just to know you’re not alone.”

Sam looks up at him, blinking tears out of his eyes, and glances at the pool below nervously. He swallows, but can’t seem to get rid of the lump in his throat that is preventing him from talking. He looks at his hand, and then back up at the duo. He hesitantly raised it, formed it into a fist and made the up and down motion that Eileen had just shown him.

Eileen’s face brightens. “Great! We like making new friends!” She turns to Castiel and pats the empty bleacher in front of her. “Come sit down, stop looming over us like an overgrown tree!”

Castiel huffs, but doesn’t look particularly put out, and sits in the indicated space, and turns so he is facing Eileen and Sam.

“So…” Cas asks, “you moved here recently, I guess?”

Sam signs yes, and Cas and Eileen smile back at him encouragingly.

“So, you want to talk about it?” Cas asks.

Sam scrunches his eyebrows together. “Talk about what?” he asks.

“Oh, so he DOES talk!” Eileen says, bumping her shoulder playfully against Sam’s.  
Sam shrugs.

“Why do you look like you’re going to puke? Why did you move to a new pod? Your favorite band?” Sam looks startled as Cas fires a multitude of questions at him. He looks down at the pool for a minute, and takes a chance.

“I’m nervous about that,” jutting his chin towards the pool.

“How did you do on your last test?” Eileen asks.

Sam folds his arms and curls up as much as he can into a ball, staring down at the squished gum he’d found on the floor earlier.

“I’ve never had a test like this.” When neither Cas or Eileen say anything, he continues, “We went to human schools before this. Um…and I’ve never been swimming with anyone other than my brother, and I…I don’t know if I can do all the things they are asking us to do. I don’t wanna mess up in front of all these other Selkies.”

As hard as Sam tries, he can’t help the tears that finally fall from his eyes. Eileen scoots closer to him and puts her arm around his back, and Cas jumps up on the other side of Sam and gently runs his hand through Sam’s hair. He looks past Sam to Eileen, and taps her on the shoulder to make sure she is paying attention.

“Maybe we should tell someone? There’s no reason he needs to test in front of everyone if he’s really this freaked out?”

Sam looks at them both, and then says, “You really don’t need to, I mean, why would you? You don’t even know me?”

“Sure we do, Sam,” Eileen replies. “We just introduced ourselves, didn’t we? And we are not going to leave any Selkie in distress, whether we’ve known them forever or just met them five minutes ago.”

Sam looks at her disbelievingly. “I guess. I don’t really know any other Selkies other than Dean and Bobby, and Ellen…and Jo…and my father, I guess…”

Cas tilts his head, curious about Sam’s list, but also realizing now is not the time to ask.  
“I’m going to go down and talk to Mr. Lafitte,” Eileen says.

“Who’s that?” Sam asks.

“He’s me and Cas’ teacher. He’ll know what to do!”

With that, she stands up and bounces down the bleachers and heads towards the other side of the pool. Sam feels suddenly exposed with her departure, and Cas must notice because he proceeds to wrap his arms around Sam protectively. Suddenly he looks up at Sam and asks, “Is this okay? I’m sorry I should have asked first!” as he withdraws his arms.

Sam looks at him startled. “If you don’t mind…it’s quite nice actually…” Sam blushes, and is convinced he is going to puke from the 50 different emotions that are running through him right now. He’s not sure why he feels so connected to these two random Selkies he just met, but he desperately wants to make as good as an impression as he possibly can, considering he’s practically in tears and shaking from anxiety—feelings which he’s never felt before, and will definitely require some consideration. But later, when he isn’t in danger of drowning or making a complete fool of himself in front of his entire school. For now, he closes his eyes and lets himself lean into Cas’ embrace and try to slow his breathing.

The distinct sound of footsteps thudding towards him on the bleachers make him open his eyes. He looks up at a shorter bearded man with a funny looking hat. He sits down on the bleacher in front of Sam, where Cas had been sitting previously, and holds out his hand for Sam to shake. Sam takes it cautiously. The guy has a firm, confident handshake, and his hands feel warm to Sam. Sam cautiously looks at the man’s face, where warm eyes look back at him.

“My name’s Mr. Lafitte, what’s yours?” he asks, when he sees he has Sam’s attention.

“Sam.”

Can ya help a guy out a little and give me your last name?” Mr. Lafitte asks. “Sam’s a pretty common name, you know?”

Sam shrugs. “Winchester,” he whispers.

Mr. Lafitte is silent for a moment. “You’ve got a brother, right? You are the younger one?”  
Sam shakes his head yes. “Yeah, Dean’s in 6th grade.”

“Ok. Eileen said you are worried about the test?”

Sam glares at Eileen. She shrugs. “I figured he was gonna find out one way or the other, Sam,” she says.

“I’ve never swam by myself, sir. Only with Dean, and I’ve never swam like they are in the pool, I dunno if I can do it and I don’t wanna do it in front of everyone if I can’t.”

“Okay, I think we can work with that. We can get Dean from the middle school, and you can both test together when everyone else is done. How does that sound?”

Sam considers it for a second. He doesn’t want to look any weaker in front of his new friends, but he also REALLY doesn’t want to make a fool of himself in front of the entire school. He shakes his head yes, and remembering what Eileen taught him, signs “yes” as well. It's worth it, to see the smile that forms on Eileen’s face when she sees him trying to use the sign she taught him.

Mr. Lafitte considers for a moment. “Do you want Eileen and Cas here to stay with you?”

Sam looks at them both. “I don’t want to cause any trouble…” he begins, but Eileen interrupts him.

“It is no trouble. We can go down and do our test now and get it out of the way, and then come back up here and hang out with you until everyone is done and your brother gets here.”

“We aren’t going to leave you here alone by yourself,” Cas adds. “What kind of friends would we be?” Cas tilts his head again as he watches Sam react to his words. That head tilt is awful cute, Sam thinks. He smiles almost against his will.

“Yeah, okay, if you don’t mind, that would be kinda nice.”

“Good.” I’ll go talk to your teacher, Sam, and call over to the middle school to get Dean here. Cas, why don’t you go down and test first, and then when you’re done, Eileen can go?” He looks at Cas and Eileen questioningly.

Eileen signs, “Can you repeat that? I didn’t understand.”

Mr. Lafitte turns to Eileen and briefly signs with her. Finally, Sam sees her use the sign for yes—literally the only thing he understood from the entire exchange. He guesses Mr. Lafitte explained what he had just said out loud, but he doesn’t really know.


	9. Act 3, Scene 2

Act 3, Scene 2: **The Test**

Sam isn’t really sure how much time goes by, but he does notice that when Mr. Lafitte leaves, Cas goes with him. Sam watches as Cas moves down to the pool and completes his test. He’s a gorgeous dark color with these silver spots that are magnificent. Why…why is he noticing these things? Weird. In any case, when Cas is done, and has returned to his human form and dried off and redressed, he returns to his place on the bleachers and Eileen leaves. Oh. Oh! Eileen is a beautiful seal. Most of the seals have some type of spotted or plain pattern, but Eileen has this beautiful light stripe that curls around her body. Sam’s never seen anything like it, not that he really has any experience with other kinds of seals that aren’t him or Dean.

  
Finally, the other students are ushered out, and only Sam, Cas, and Eileen are left with Mr. Lafitte and the principal, Ms. Mills. A few minutes later, Dean comes into the pool room, followed by Bobby. Sam heats up in embarrassment that they called Bobby, but he guesses that makes sense since they needed someone to bring Dean.

Dean rushes up to where Sam is sitting, near the edge of the pool. Cas and Eileen scoot away, so Dean can get close. Dean checks Sam over, like he’s checking for injuries.

“I’m not INJURED, Dean. Just a coward.”

“You’re not a coward, Sam,” Dean says, frowning. "Just a bitch.”

“Whatever, jerk.”

“Boys!” Principal Mills says.

Sam looks over at her sheepishly.

“Sorry, ma’am.”

“So what’s the deal, squirt?” Dean asks, ignoring the principal.

Sam sighs. “I didn’t feel comfortable doing the swim test in front of the whole school.” Sam shrugs. “I’ve never swam like that, I mean, we swam in the YMCA, but as humans , and I don’t really have that much practice, and I didn’t want to make a total fool out of myself in front of the entire school if I didn’t do well.” He pauses and looks petulantly at the pool. “And I’ve never swam without you and it felt wrong.”

“Oh, buddy,” Dean says, enveloping Sam in a hug. “We’ll get this all straightened out. I’m sure you’ll do fine.”

Dean looks up at Mr. Lafitte and Ms. Mills. “What does he have to do?” he asks.

Mr. Lafitte explains to Dean what Sam is expected to do for his swim test. When he’s finished, Dean looks at Sam.

“This is no sweat. You’ve got this. Come on, let's go change and we’ll show them how awesome you are!”

Dean grabs Sam’s hand, and half pulls, half drags Sam to his feet. They head over to a tent set up at one side of the pool which is provided to give students privacy while they undress and change. Sam undresses and transforms, but makes no move to slide into the water. Dean shakes his head and hooks his arms behind Sam’s front flippers and pushes him into the water. Sam barks indignantly at the sudden change of location. Dean makes short work of his clothes and changing, and is quickly sliding into the water behind Sam.

After waiting a few minutes, with both Dean and Sam bobbing up and down in the water like a float, Dean splashes Sam in the face, and then starts swimming away. Sam barks angrily and swims after him. Dean leads him on a merry chase—up and down the pool length twice, once above water, once below, breaching the water several times, and doing barrel rolls. And Sam, as he was accustomed to doing in the past, did his best to emulate whatever his brother was doing. Dean finally let Sam catch up to him, and Sam wasted no time in making sure Dean got splashed in the face as well. Dean levers himself back up onto the deck and into the tent and transforms. Sam swims to the edge and makes a questioning noise. Dean pulls on his shorts quickly and comes back out to Sam.

“We’re done, bud, it’s over. You did all the things you had to do. You can get out and change.”

Sam’s seal face looks disbelieving, but he comes up onto the deck and caterpillars his way into the tent anyway. Dean joins him to finish toweling off and dressing. When they come out, Sam trails behind his brother, looking very unsure and self conscious. But when they arrive where the adults and Cas and Eileen are standing, they are all smiling. Well, not Bobby, but the crinkles are visible by his eyes, and Sam has learned that this is how Bobby smiles.

“Great job Sam!” Cas exclaims, and he and Eileen rush over to him to give him a hug.

Sam looks at the adults, and asks nervously, “Did I do okay?” he asks.

“You did great!” Mr. Lafitte says.

Dean looks at the adults. “Sam knows how to do most stuff—but I don’t think he knows what the moves are called.” He shrugs, and ruffles Sam’s hair. Sam ducks away from Dean’s hand, almost tripping Cas and Eileen in the process. “He’s a smart pup, though, he learns real fast.”  
“’M not a pup” Sam growls, without any real heat.

“Alright, you idjits, I might as well bring the two of you home, there isn’t much left to school anyhow.” He looks at Cas and Eileen. “The two of you should come over for dinner one night. Ellen be glad to see the both of you again.” He focuses on Cas. “Even that pain in the butt brother of yours, Castiel.”

“Thank you, Mr. Singer, I’ll ask my parents and see when Gabe and I can come.” He turns to Eileen. “You ask your aunt, and then we can figure out what day we can go together.”

“I might as well bring the whole bunch home, if that’s okay with you, Ms. Mills?”

“Absolutely, Mr. Singer. I’ll let Sam and Dean’s teachers know that they are leaving early, and Mr. Lafitte here obviously can tell that Cas and Eileen are leaving,” she says, smiling.

Suddenly Eileen turns to Mr. Lafitte with a concerned look on her face. “Mr. Lafitte,” she signs, “If you are here with us—who is with our class?”

“No worries, Eileen,” Mr. Lafitte signs back. “Someone is watching our class until I can get back to the school.”

Sam watches the exchange confused, so Cas translates for him. Sam nods his head in understanding.

“Alright, pups,” Bobby says. Everyone pile in the truck for the ride home.”

“Oh, wait,” Cas says, stopping and turning back to Ms. Mills. “Can you tell my brother I got a ride home with Mr. Singer? Otherwise he’s gonna come here to pick me up and be freaked out when I’m not here.”

“Of course, Castiel. No problem.” Ms. Mills replies.

Castiel nods his head, satisfied, and turns around to catch up to the group, who have continued walking slowly towards Bobby’s beat up truck.

When Sam and Dean finally get back to Bobby’s after dropping off Eileen and Castiel, Sam flops bonelessly on his bed. He is exhausted—and the swimming wasn’t even the hardest part! He doesn’t understand why Castiel and Eileen were so nice to him—they were both 10—two whole years older than him! What would they want with a scrawny eight year old? Even more confusing, was why did he want them to stay? Not just in terms of “I don’t want to be alone,” but he really wanted them to stay and learn everything about them—he’d never felt that way about anyone else before—not in the human schools or here. Was…this what making friends was like? But…this felt different? He’d made a couple of friends in his class—Jessica and Brady—and this didn’t feel the same. He wanted to know EVERYTHING about Castiel and Eileen—and he couldn’t stop thinking about how it felt when they were sitting next to him and how comfortable he felt with them.

Eventually, Bobby called Sam down for dinner, and Sam was asked to recount the events of the day for Ellen. Jo started making kissy faces at Sam, and Sam was pretty annoyed at her.  
“What are you doing that for?” he asked her.

“Cause it's obvious, you have a crush on Castiel and Eileen.”

Sam growled. “I do not! I’m eight! They are 10! That’s gross!”

Ellen intervened. “Okay, that’s enough, Jo.” Jo rolls her eyes and stomps her feet, but stops teasing Sam.

Ellen redirects to Sam. “I’m glad you made some friends today, Sam. Don’t worry about Jo. Just enjoy.” She pauses to glare at Jo. “Why don’t you go in the kitchen and get that pie I made for dessert and cool down a bit,” she says to Jo. Of course, Dean is over the moon for pie.

Later that evening, when Sam and Dean are both laying in bed, Sam asks Dean.

“Do you think Jo is right?”

“Huh?” Dean replies back sleepily. “Bout what?”

“About me having a crush on Castiel and Eileen?”

“Dude, I dunno. I wouldn’t worry about it. Jo just likes to tease, and she doesn’t have any boundaries. They seem like nice kids. So hang out with them. Get to know them. Don’t sweat the small stuff, ok?”

“Yeah, ok, I guess,” Sam replies. “Have you ever had a crush? What did it feel like?” Sam asks.

“Uggh, Sam, are we really having this conversation right now?”

Sam sits up in bed. “I can’t stop thinking about it, Dean.”

Dean looks over at him across the dark room. “You’re giving me puppy dog eyes, aren’t you?”

Sam scratches his nose. “Maybe?”

Dean sighs. “Get over here, squirt.”

Sam dives out of his covers and is on Dean’s side of the room in a heartbeat.

He curls up next to Dean, like he’s been doing since he was a tiny pup.

“Look. I’m not any relationship expert. Maybe you feel a crush, maybe you don’t. What’s important is that you get along with them and they treat you good. And as long as that is true, whether they stay friends or become something more down the line, it won’t matter—because you’ll have people you can count on.”

“Okay, thanks, Dean. Can…Can I sleep here tonight?”

“It’s your room too,” Dean replies.

Sam rolls his eyes. “You know that’s not what I meant, Dean.”

“Yeah, Yeah, sure, bitch. Just don’t hog the covers.”

“Ugh, it’s YOU that hogs the covers, jerk!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Dean replies, as he grabs the covers and yanks them towards him and off of Sam.

“DEAN!” Sam yells. “Stop being annoying!”

“I’m not being annoying!”

“BOYS!” Ellen’s voice reaches them from downstairs. “Are you going to go to bed or do I have to come up there?”

“NO ELLEN, We’re going to sleep!” The boys both yell back down at the same time. They look at each other and start to laugh. Sam yanks some blanket back from Dean, who lets him have it. The last thought Sam has as he is falling asleep is that he is so glad that he and Dean were able to come here to live.


	10. Act 4, Scene 1

Act 4, Scene 1: **Sam: 16, Dean: 20 Castiel: 18, Eileen 18, Gabriel: 21**

One random morning, Sam walked out of the house to walk to school, and parked in front of the house was his father’s Impala. Sam frowned. John hadn’t ever returned, not even so much as a postcard or letter on their birthdays. Bobby had said that it was probably for the best, but there was always a part of Sam that wished he would come back. He approached the car, cautiously, but there was no one inside. The keys were in the ignition, but there were no signs of anyone coming or going. Sam blinked, and then ran back in the house, yelling for Bobby.

Sam was late getting into school, and as much as Cas prodded and poked him, he couldn’t get Sam to talk about it. Cas was nothing if not obstinate, and decided to walk home with Sam. When they arrived in front of the Singer-Harvelle residence, and Cas saw the Impala, still parked where Sam had found it this morning, Cas looked at Sam in disbelief.

“Sam, is… is your father… here?” he asked.

Sam shook his head. “Nope. Just the Impala. It randomly showed up overnight, keys in the ignition. Bobby says he thinks it must have been towed here by some fancy truck, cause if it was driven we woulda heard it a mile off in the middle of the night. It’s a real gas guzzler, ya know?”

Cas snuck an arm around Sam and squeezed, and Sam let him bring them together.

“Is that why you’ve been off all day?” Cas asked.

“Yup.” A pause. “I found it. I’m the first one out of the house in the morning. By the time the excitement had died down, well, as you saw, I was late to school.”

Cas looked at Sam concernedly. “You want me to stay? I’ll have Gabe drive over some clothes for me?”

“You don’t have to…” Sam begins to say.

“But what if I want to? Cas asks before Sam can finish. He’s learned not to even let Sam finish his sentences before he can start down the “I don’t want to inconvenience you” story.

Sam tries to smile and fails, but he does relax. “That would be really nice, Cas.”

Dean is almost never home on Friday nights, usually spending the weekends with Gabriel and doing who knows what. Sam tries not to think about it too hard. There are some things even brothers don’t share with each other. So when Cas or Eileen are over, they usually sleep in Dean’s bed. Except when the both sleep over, and then Sam and Cas push the beds together and they all sleep together.

But tonight, after returning from the bathroom to change and do his nightly bathroom routine, Castiel slips into Sam’s bed with him. Sam startles, slightly, not expecting Cas to slide into bed with him.

Cas pauses. “Is this okay?” he asks.

Sam nods, even as he realizes that in the dark of the bedroom, Cas probably can’t see him clearly.

“Yeah, Cas, it’s fine, you just startled me, that’s all.” Sam looks up at Cas with a smile. “You’re like a cat sometimes, you don’t make any noise.”

Cas huffs, and then curls around Sam, making Sam the little spoon. It’s similar to how they sleep when Eileen is there, except she is usually curled into him on his other side. Cas runs his hands through Sam’s hair, and Sam lets himself relax. Before he knows it, he’s fast asleep.

A few weeks later, Bobby rounds Sam and Dean up, and tells them they are going on a field trip that weekend. Dean is rather outspoken, complaining that he had plans with Gabriel already. Bobby is undeterred. “Bring him with you, then,” was Bobby’s answer.

Which is how Ellen, Bobby, Dean, Gabriel, Sam, Cas and Eileen all end up on this mysterious field trip. With island traffic, it took them about a half an hour, until they arrived at an overgrown lot, where the remains of a house stood, barely visible between the vines and saplings that were reclaiming the area for their own. Cas jokes that their cars were like clown cars as everyone spilled out of the two cars they’d packed themselves into for the trip.  
They stand and stare at the house for at least five minutes, when Dean finally asks, “What are we doing here, Bobby?”

Bobby turned and looked at Sam and Dean, a serious look on his face.

“This was your house. The one that burned down, when Sam was a baby.”

Dean doesn’t take his eyes off the wreckage that remains of the house as he tersely asks, “Yes, but what are we DOING here?”

“Figured it's about time I explained why your father is so messed up about your mother’s death.”

Sam’s pretty sure he can see Dean vibrating with emotion, but he didn’t realize he was also vibrating until he felt a solid presence beside him, curling an arm around his shoulder and encouraging him to lean some of his weight. Cas. Sam can’t talk. Luckily, Dean seems to have it all handled.

“And we couldn’t do this around the kitchen table because…” Dean trails off, clearly looking for an answer.

Bobby looks away. “We probably could have. But… it just didn’t seem right.” He turns back to Dean, and fixes him with a no nonsense stare. “This aint easy for me either, Dean...Sam...” he looks briefly at Sam before returning to Dean. “But I’m hoping maybe we can close this chapter for once and for all.”

Sam closes his eyes and swallows heavily. He has tried his whole life really hard to not think of the mother he never knew. He learned early on that asking either Dean or Dad made them very angry, and so, he just learned… not to ask anymore. At 17, that still hadn’t changed. Eileen comes to his other side, and tucks herself under his arm, feeling strong and warm and comforting next to him. Sam wants to cry, from all the emotions that are boiling within him right now, but he forces it down, so he can listen.

Bobby stares at the house remains as he continues. “It was faulty electrical wiring. We had all kinds of inspectors in here—human and supernatural. Rowena did a full sweep, magically. It was just awful timing. But John. John, he was so sure that there was something else. A fire demon. He couldn’t believe it was just...bad luck. He started getting...paranoid… and we talked about having you boys live with us for a while, until he could get his feet back underneath him. But his paranoia took that and ran with it. He was convinced we thought he was an unfit parent and was going to take you away from him and he’d never see the both of you again. That the fire was a conspiracy to get rid of Mary. That we were falsifying and lying to him about the results of the investigation. And one night, no warning, you were all gone, no trace.

“We tried looking for you for a while, and we came close a couple of times, but it seemed to set him off even worse, and so we just...had to back off...we didn’t know what he would do. So you gotta understand when I saw you two on the beach that day… I wanted to scoop you up and bring you home so badly. But I was so afraid. Afraid you wouldn’t trust me and run away, that John would come and really lose it—I just…” he stops, and for a while all that can be heard is the breathing of the group and the little noises of nature, going about its business.

“It was so hard to walk away that day,” Bobby finishes. “But that card I gave you? It was majicked, by Rowena. It let me get a basic sense of where you all were at, and it was charmed that if it was lost or thrown away—it would find its way back to its owner.” Bobby breathes out, heavily. “And then you boys know the rest. Dean got sick, Sam called me, and John ended up handing you both over to me anyway.” He turns to look at both Sam and Dean. “I want you to know that it was never my intention to separate you both from your father. I wanted him to come home so badly. But...I think...whatever happened to him after Mary died… he just couldn’t recover from it.”

“Do… do you think he’s still alive?” Sam asked, hesitantly.

Bobby shrugs. “Dunno. Your guess is as good as mine, Sam. We’ve looked, we can’t find him. If he is alive, he’s got some good wards going, that Rowena can’t find him.”

The group stood there quietly for a little longer, until Dean broke the silence.

“Well, I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m fucking starving.”

And right on cue, Sam’s stomach growled, and like that, the tense moment was broken, as everyone broke into laughter and Sam blushed, embarrassed.

“Well I guess that settles it then,” Bobby said. “Let go eat!”

And so they all piled into the cars again, and left the decaying house in the past, and moved into the present.


	11. Act 5, Scene 1

Act 5, Scene 1: **Sam: 20, Dean: 24, Castiel: 22, Eileen: 22, Gabriel: 25**

Sam was curled up on the couch in the living room with Eileen watching TV when Cas came in. Sam could hear him rummaging around in the kitchen, but was completely surprised when he wedged himself onto the couch next to Sam. He held out two sodas, one towards Sam and the other towards Eileen. Sam tapped Eileen on the shoulder to get her attention. She grabbed the bottle from Cas, signing “thank you” as she did.

Sam did the same, and then used his foot to pull the coffee table towards him so he could use it as a footrest. Both Cas and Eileen stared at him. “Ellen is going to cut your feet off if she catches you,” Eileen said. Cas nodded in agreement. “Yeah, and we aren’t going to protect you either.”

“Great, I’m glad you both have my back, I feel so supported,” Sam replied, looking towards Eileen so she could read his lips.

“We’d have your back against anyone else,” Eileen replied. “But not Ellen. She’s scary.”

“I’ll deal with it when it becomes a problem,” Sam said.

“It’s your funeral,” Cas replied.

They sat in silence for a while, occasionally drinking or munching on the popcorn that Sam made, and didn’t notice Ellen come downstairs to start dinner.

“Samuel William Winchester, I know you don’t have your feet up on my coffee table!” Ellen’s voice came from out of nowhere.

Sam gulped. “Nope, I surely don’t, Ellen!” Sam replied, removing the offending feet from the coffee table, ignoring the giggles and I told you so’s coming from either side of him.

“Hey, no comments from the peanut gallery,” Sam groused.

Ellen walked in with a cleaning rag and tossed it to Sam.

“What’s this for?” he asked.

“So you can clean the coffee table and get rid of those foot germs you left on it.”

“Oh, come on, Ellen,” Sam began, only to be interrupted by Ellen.

“No, you don’t get to ‘oh come on Ellen’ anymore. You’re 20. You want to put your feet up on a coffee table? Get yourself your own home and then you can put your feet up as much as you like.”

Sam rolled his eyes, but did as he was told, ignoring the taunts from Eileen and Cas.


	12. Act 5, Scene 2

Act 5, Scene 2: **The Space**

But Sam couldn’t quite get the idea out of his head, once he had thought about it. Dean had moved out a year ago, when he and Gabriel had made it official. Dean was now working at Bobby’s Salvage Yard, repairing cars, and when he had a chance, restoring them as well. Sam was going to school online for mythical creature studies. He had thought he’d wanted to go into law, but his curiosity about the various kinds of actual mythical creatures and how they had adjusted to the Great Unveiling was too great to be ignored. Dean perpetually joshed with him, asking him what he was going to do with a degree in “mythical creatures,” but Ellen and Bobby had been supportive, and since the pod was helping him pay for his education, that was most important.

That was neither here nor there. The reality was that he was a 20 year old living in his adopted parent’s home, when in reality he could absolutely move out. But… he didn’t really want to live alone. But the situation with Cas and Eileen was… confusing, to say the least. Since they’d met that day in school, they had been inseparable, and once Dean and Gabriel started hanging out the whole group of them were together all the time. As they’d grown older, Sam and Eileen had become more intimate, but Sam still didn’t understand how he felt about Cas—or how Cas felt about him.

He’d asked Cas if he minded, not that he was Eileen’s keeper, but for some reason—Sam felt like he needed to communicate his desire to move farther with Eileen. As much as he appreciated the threesome’s cuddle sessions, sometimes he just needed… more than that.  
Cas had basically laughed in Sam’s face—in a friendly way, and told him, “Sam, it’s about time you figured that out!”

“But you don’t mind?” Sam had responded.

“No, definitely not.” Cas shrugged. “I’m good just hanging out with the two of you. I don’t… really need anything else—so if the two of you do, you should go for it.”  
Sam just blinked at him. “I don’t get it, Cas,” he said, with a confused puppy seal look on his face. “I just… don’t want you to be upset?”

“It’s perfect Sam, really. I promise. Not everyone needs the same things, and that’s okay.” Sam nodded, and thought about it. It… kinda did make sense, after all, while he enjoyed being intimate with Eileen, sometimes… sometimes all he wanted to do was cuddle, and that seemed much different than Dean’s perspective. He didn’t know—or want to know—much about Dean’s sex life, but Sam knew Dean liked sex and liked sex a LOT. So he could understand that everyone was different. So he left, still slightly confused, but with a little better understanding.

Sometimes all three of them would hang out, like they had a few nights ago, and sometimes just Sam and Eileen, or just Sam and Cas. Sam wasn’t sure if Cas and Eileen got together without him. But his confusion, which was only growing, was that when he was out with just Eileen, or just Cas, he felt like he was cheating on the other, and he didn’t really know how to parse that.

Which is how Sam got to this early evening, where he was laying on the beach with Eileen, after a fun, slightly competitive Selkie swim race and some pleasant time after, laying on the deserted stretch of beach in nothing but their human skins, using their pelts as blankets on the sand.

Eileen sat up suddenly, and tapped Sam to get his attention.

“What’s going on?” she signed.

Sam drew his eyebrows together. “What do you mean?” he signed back.

“You are tense. Worried. Have been for a while. What’s going on in that overthinking head of yours?” she asked.

Sam shook his head. “Nothing.”

Eileen reached over and pinched him in the crook of his elbow.

Sam yelped and sat up, rubbing the inside of his elbow. “What was that for?” he asked.

“For lying,” Eileen replied. “You want to try again, more truthfully this time?”

Sam looked down and ran his fingers through his hair, trying to figure out what he wanted to say.

“You remember when we met?”

Eileen nodded.

“Remember you told me sometimes it’s hard to talk about things out loud?”

Eileen smiled as she nodded, and scooted so she was closer to Sam.

“This… this is like that.” He paused. “I don’t have the words to explain what I’m feeling.”  
“And what did I say to do when that happened, Sam?”

“To use my hands.” Sam smiled with the memory. “But this can’t be solved with a simple yes or no.”

Eileen was quiet for a moment, and then she signed. “So tell me a story. Start anywhere, it doesn’t have to be the beginning. Just start. And it will come. And if I don’t understand, I will ask questions. And we will figure it out. OK?”

Sam nodded. “Yeah, okay.”

“I am confused,” Sam started. “I… was thinking about what Ellen said a few days ago—about moving out. And I thought it was a good idea. But… I don’t want to move out by myself, but I also… If I were to ask you to move in with me, and you accepted—I know a lot of what ifs—I would feel weird about leaving Cas out. But I don’t want Cas to feel weird if he is invited as well, I feel like I’m stepping on toes and I never feel right when I’m just with one of you and I don’t understand why. I just don’t know where I belong.”

Sam lets out a deep breath, which he’d apparently been holding while he spewed words out of his mouth. Eileen tilts her head at him, a thoughtful look on her face.

“Crap, I said something wrong? I screwed it up, didn’t I? Fuck I do this all the time I put my foot in my mouth and…”

Sam doesn’t get a chance to finish, because Eileen has stopped him from talking by kissing him. When she pulls away, Sam just blinks at her, confused.

Eileen shakes her head. “You haven’t done anything wrong, Sam.”

“Then… do you know what this is? Cause I don’t have a clue.” Sam’s eyebrows get a wrinkle in between them, and Eileen reaches to smooth them out.

“I think you love me and you love Cas, and no one ever told you that it was okay to love two people.”

Sam just stared at her, blankly.

“And I think part of that is Cas and my fault, because we forget that you spent eight years of your life living as a human—the years of your life that you pick up the norms of the culture you are in.”

Sam blinks at her. “I don’t understand.”

Eileen smiles. “Humans—most humans, at least—are hung up on monogamy. Your one true love that you love more than anyone else. But Selkies—we don’t see it that way. Love is love, and one love isn’t greater than another. And Cas and I assumed you knew that and that is 100% our fault.”

“I don’t…” Sam huffs. “I don’t understand what you’re trying to tell me.

“I’m trying to tell you that if you don’t want to choose between us you don’t have to. You aren’t cheating on one of us when you are with the other. We know, and we’re okay with it. We like spending time with all three of us, and separately. And all of it is okay.”

“But… I don’t… I’m not… with Cas…” Sam says, incapable of forming a complete sentence.  
Eileen almost laughs at him. “I think I broke your brain, Sam Winchester! That’s okay. Being intimate—the way you and I are sometimes—is a way of expressing love—but it’s not the only way, and honestly, it’s not a way that works for Cas.”

“But… he doesn’t mind us…” Sam trails off again.

“That was almost a complete sentence, Sam!”

“Shut up!” Sam muttered, blushing.

Eileen brings her hand up to cup Sam’s face. “No, he doesn’t mind at all. No more then I mind when the two of you curl up on the couch together and watch those nerdy movies you both like.”

“But it’s not the same,” Sam replied.

“Of course it isn’t. That doesn’t make the love you and Cas have, or Cas and I have, any more or less than the love you and I have. It’s just DIFFERENT.”

Sam lets out a breath he didn’t know he was holding, and with it come tears that he also didn’t know were there. Eileen holds out her arms, and Sam curls up in them, as odd and uncomfortable it is with how much larger he is than her, but still she holds him tight until his tears are done. Sam shifts so he is facing Eileen and apologizes.

“For what? For having emotions?” Eileen cards her fingers through his hair. “I can’t even begin to imagine how long this has been bothering you. Cas and I should be apologizing to you, not the other way around.”

“I really don’t have to choose?” Sam asks, seeking validation of these new facts.

“You really don’t have to choose. In fact, I think we should find where we threw our clothes, get dressed and go find Cas.”

“Yeah?” Sam asks hesitantly.

“Yeah. First, so Cas and I can make our apologies, you can hear from Cas himself what I’ve told you, and then we need to start making plans!”

Sam blinks, the story having changed too fast for him to keep up. “We do?” he asks.

“Yeah we do! Didn’t you begin this conversation about how you were thinking about moving out of Ellen and Bobby’s?”

“Yeah…” Sam replies, obviously not following.

“Well, we have to start making lists of needs and wants so we can start house shopping, silly!” Eileen replies, as she gets up and starts hunting in the sand for their clothes. When she comes back, having successfully retrieved them from where they had been covered by sand, she handed Sam his shirt and shorts, Sam looked at her in awe.

“So wait, is that a… yes? You’ll move in with me?”

Eileen rolls her eyes. “YES! Get with the program Sam!”

“And we’re going to go find Cas to…”

“Tell him we’re moving in together?”

“Yeah?”

“If that’s what you want?” Eileen has pulled on her clothes and is now standing, waiting for Sam to get up. Sam looks up at her. "Is that what you want?" she asks.

“Yeah. Yeah, I do. Let's go get Cas and find a house.”

Eileen holds out her hand and “helps” Sam get up, and they walk together towards the Novak’s house to pick Cas up.


	13. Epilogue

Epilogue: **Ellen**

The next morning, Ellen comes downstairs to find Sam, Cas, and Eileen all squished together on the couch, with papers scattered all around them haphazardly. Ellen glances at one that has made its way into the walkway, and chuckles when she reads the title: “House Must Haves and Wants,” and lists scrawled in all three young adults’ handwriting.

As she starts breakfast she mutters to herself, “It’s about time you idjits!”


End file.
